German Pharmacies Offer Cannabis Cheaper Than Darknet

BERLIN – Cannabis flower available by prescription through German pharmacies has for the first time undercut prices on the darknet, according to data released by EKOCAN as part of the official evaluation of the country’s partial Сannabis legalization.

The shift, documented in the second interim report of the EKOCAN evaluation project, marks a milestone in the maturation of Germany’s medical Cannabis market. By December 2025, the lowest-priced tracked online pharmacy offered flower at €5.95 per gram – below the darknet median of €8.25 per gram for quantities up to 25 grams. A second major pharmacy channel stood at €8.23 per gram, also competitive.

Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) supplied the darknet figures as part of the EKOCAN study, tracking 6,716 price observations – 4,392 of them for Cannabis flower. The report noted that small-quantity darknet flower prices had already declined 14-15% over the monitoring period, with bulk listings falling as much as 25%. Yet, pharmacy prices fell faster still, dropping roughly 15% across 2025 and continuing to compress without plateau.

The findings arrive two years after Germany’s Cannabis Act took effect in April 2024, which eased access to medical Cannabis while creating regulated home cultivation and Cannabis clubs for recreational use. Medical prescriptions, handled largely through online telemedicine platforms and fulfilled by pharmacies, have driven the bulk of market growth. Sales in the sector roughly doubled to €2 billion in 2025, fueled by imports that reached an estimated 192 tons.

Average pharmacy prices for medical Cannabis flower slid from €8.33 per gram in January 2025 to €5.23 per gram by December, according to separate tracking by Bloomwell, a major telehealth provider. Product variety more than doubled in the same span, from 468 to 724 flower options. Based on a mid-2025 Bloomwell Group survey, 47.5% of patients reported that pharmacy-grade medical Cannabis is cheaper than illicit alternatives, with 83% rating the legal supply as higher in quality. These findings indicate a strong preference for regulated products, with 79% of surveyed patients having previously relied on unlicensed sources before adopting digital therapy.

The EKOCAN report itself frames the price convergence as evidence of competitive pressure from legal pharmacy supply on illegal channels. Still, the data offers the first systematic, government-sourced comparison of its kind in Europe.

For patients, the development removes a long-standing argument against legal channels: cost. For the broader market, it underscores how oversupply, driven by aggressive telemedicine prescribing and imported volume, has reshaped economics. Wholesalers and pharmacies have absorbed margin pressure to capture share, while domestic producers face tighter competition.